Cupid's Chokehold
by Z0E
Summary: Hi, I'm Elizabeth and I'm gonna get over a really hot, stoic and emotionless vampire. And this is how I'm gonna do it.. Read and Review!
1. The List

**This is something different. I hope you all like it.**

**The List.**

Urgh! I slammed my apartment door which nearly broke.

What the hell is his problem? Why does he always act like he has a stick up his ass? Why do I keep on hoping that he would pay any attention to me? Why do I keep throwing myself at him like a slut? Am I that desperate? Why can he see that even though he has so many fan girls, I'm different?

Today after our group training, as always, I asked him if he wanted to go grab something to eat and you know what? He didn't even look at me. He kept on walking! When it all started he at least used to look at me and then just walk away now he didn't even look at me. Acted as if I didn't even exist. How.. Arrogant! Who the hell did he think he was? I was no less than him.

I can't bear getting rejected again and again! Well, if he doesn't see what he's missing then it's not my fault! Its simply his lost!

Yes. That's right. I'm going to get over him. But how?

Yes! Im gonna make a list.

I grabbed a pen and a paper from my table and started scribbling on it. I made a list and wrote;

_19 Fail-safe ways to Forget about a Certain Stubborn, Bronze-Haired, Hormone-less, 845 Years Old, Powerful Vampire Jerk And Get on With your Life because It Is Too Short To Spend All Your Precious Time Trying to Get Henry Fitzroy Attention_

_By: Elizabeth Santiago_

_1. Never...I repeat NEVER allow yourself to get lost in his (stunning, gorgeous, beautiful topaz) eyes!__ Just don't do it. You may casually glance into them once in a while to avoid suspicion, but if you feel yourself starting to lose all sense of time while looking, slap yourself and look away! If needed Avoid ALL eye contact with him, however this method may arouse unwanted attention._

_2. Stop Asking Him out!__ Resist all urges to ask him out to eat or to train with you. The more time you spend with him, the harder it will be to accept the fact that you will never be together. Or...well that WOULD be true, if he ever accepted your offers. Still constantly asking him out gives him the satisfaction of having your attention AND gives him the opportunity to hurt you when he declines. So im sure you don't want that to happen._

_3. Don't offer him compliments__! Informing him of all of his good qualities just helps him inflate his already Bigger-Than-Life ego. If he happens to do something wildly impressive in your presence, simply ignore it. If THAT proves to be impossible, compliment him in your head or go home and express your adoration onto a piece of paper. Then...rip the paper to shreds and burn it._

_4. Do not ogle his hot body and/or lovely features while at training or on a mission.__ This will be a crucial step in getting over him, considering the fact that the Fitzroy has one of the most beautiful bodies in the history of...well...everything. If you manage to complete this step, it will only be a matter of time before you forget the bastard totally. If you begin to stare, just tell yourself to imagine him naked...WAIT NO! DON'T DO THAT! IN ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU DO THAT! Instead...imagine him...wearing...a...a... bunny suit._

_5. Always try to dress your best and look utterly...well...for lack of a better word, hot.__ If you look good, feel good and take pride in the fact that you are one unique and smoking hot brown haired beauty, everyone will take notice of your newfound confidence. This includes men. Yes...In your obsession with Henry, you have forgotten about the other eligible men of your homeland called Vampiria. So always remember to spend a bit of time each day and put in that extra effort to look your best. Soon you'll feel so empowered that Henry Fitzroy won't even cross your mind._

_6. stop calling him babe!__ From now on you will refer to the man in question as Henry. NOT Henry babe. The elimination of this will not only let him know that you are no longer dying for his affections, but also you'll be subconsciously telling your heart to accept the fact that you don't want to be with him anymore. If you occasionally let a small "Henry babe" slip out, quickly correct yourself. There's no room to be weak. Clear your throat loudly and proudly say "Sorry... Henry."_

_7. Be yourself around him even if its really hard.__Every guy wants a girl to pretend she is something she's not. Who likes a regular person? Be different and special and in order to do that you should try to act like the hottest stuff in the world. That will boost your confidence and the Henry will notice your confidence. It's easier to act like someone else rather than be yourself. Be assertive_

_8. Don't stop doing what you like to do__. Just because Henry might like something else doesn't mean you should stop doing something you like .If he doesn't like you for who you are, then let him be. Try a new hairstyle, new clothes, etc. It's a good idea to change things up once in a while. Because variety might be the spice of life, and it might help you catch his eye, not that you want to. Try being that girl who is different from all the other okay looking girls. guys love when girls look them in the eyes so don't do it with Henry. There's more fun if your trying to get over someone while trying to make them fall hard for you when your over them. Get it?_

_9. Make sure you don't go on about nothing__. Definitely make sense when you talk to him. Don't twirl your hair, flick your eyelashes or GIGGLE nonstop._

_10. During training sessions, never let him beat you.__ This may seem difficult considering the fact that he is without a doubt one of the strongest Vampires in Vampiria. But I do not necessarily mean beating you as in defeating you in the battlefield. After every match, his comments of you being "annoying" and "weak" constantly get you down. No more! Instead, leave him no excuse to call you weak. Go at him with everything you've got. And his remarks of your annoyance will not beat you down! If he calls you such, simply brush it off and walk away. There is no reason for you to take his comments to heart anymore. You. Are. Getting. Over. Him._

_11. Replace Each of his "grunts" with something else in your mind.__ It can be pretty infuriating when you pour out your heart and soul to this man, and all you get in return is a lousy grunt. Therefore, whenever he deems it fit to reward the conversation with one of his "Hn's" take it upon yourself to (in your mind, for you do not want to seem like a lunatic) replace the grunt with something else. For example: Hn= I'm a pretty girl. Or Hn = I enjoy dancing in my green jumpsuit that I received from my boyfriend last Christmas. Or Hn= I'm gay etc._

_12. Feel free to flirt or date whenever you want to.__ If a young man asks you on date or shamelessly flirts with you, feel free to return the favor. Before, when you were in love with Henry, you would consider this unfaithful and unnecessary. But now that you have made the choice to let go of your infatuation, it is still unnecessary but the fact is that you are now free to enter the great, big world of dating. (I heard James available). This also demonstrates to the Fitzroy that you are over him._

_13. If the man ever insults you, ignore him. __Why on earth should you sit down and take it? You are a strong woman and he has no right to put you down! If he does, counter it with an equally scathing remark and then proceed to give him the cold shoulder. It's high time for him to stop assuming that, just because you WERE in love him, he has the right to insult you as much as he wants, without suffering the consequences!_

_14. If by any chance he flirts with you__. Ignore him and hurt his ego.__ For example, if he comes close, pull a face and offer him gum. This will unbalance his ego and show your not interested._

_15. Hate him__. Act like you hate him and are no longer after his affection._

_16. Don't hang out with him often__. Even if we go to those meetings and parties etc you don't always want to be hanging around because you might look like an annoying bug that's always around and never goes away which in our case is not true__. Do ignore him sometimes. __If he is looking only at you, try to share your thoughts. eg. You are in a boring class, using your facial expression and pulled a face at the teacher then looking back at him and smile. Sharing these intimate moments makes him know your just a friend._

_17. Walk in front of him__. It may be very simple, but it works. Don't look at him. Make him feel invisible and that you no longer love him. Make him feel like you do all the time in his presence._

_18. Take it upon yourself to help set up the Fitzroy with another deserving woman.__ God knows he has a boundless amount of fan girls around Vampiria. Make it your goal to set him up with one. By doing this, you are teaching yourself to grow accustomed to the fact that he will be free to date another girl. You have moved on. You don't care WHO he goes out with. It also shows him that he needs to get a move on the whole "rebuilding his clan" endeavor, because, you being a prime example, his fan girls won't be there forever._

_19. Burn this list and continue the steps over and over again__. You have learned all you can from this piece of paper. It is time you put it aside and continue on your own. You must be able to keep your head high and go out there without any list to fall back on. YOU ARE ELAZABETH SANTIAGO AND YOU DO NOT LOVE HENRY FITZROY ANY LONGER!_

_Congratulations! If you managed to complete each and every one of these 19 steps, you have successfully gotten over the cold hearted bastard! Enjoy your new life of freedom and independence! (If you have not completed these steps and failed miserably...then...You are basically doomed to live a life of rejection, sorrow and stress for eternity till your staked. Have a good day!)_

**Please please REVIEW!**


	2. Number 1

**God this took me forever to write!**

**Number. 1!**

_1. Never...I repeat NEVER allow yourself to get lost in his (stunning, gorgeous, beautiful topaz) eyes!__ Just don't do it. You may casually glance into them once in a while to avoid suspicion, but if you feel yourself starting to lose all sense of time while looking, slap yourself and look away! If needed Avoid ALL eye contact with him, however this method may arouse unwanted attention._

As I woke up to another same old boring day, I recalled yesterday's list.

I walked towards the bathroom, freshened up as she took a nice warm shower.

Vampires in Vampiria didn't have one special power. They knew how to do everything but mastered in only one. Also there's a limited amount that can be used. You can endanger your life by using too many powers.

After taking a shower and changed into my boring training cloths I walked to look at the list with newfound determination. Who did he think he was? Just because he's one of the most powerful vampire around doesn't mean he can walk all over me! I'm as good as he is! He has insulted and hurt me more times than I can count...He's never even shown me one ounce of kindness since he returned home which is a whole different story. It's about time I got over him.

I read the list over and over again. Just in case I forget what I had to do. Now that would just be embarrassing. Going again and again to look at the list.

DON'T LOOK IN HIS EYES. DON'T LOOK IN HIS EYES. DON'T LOOK IN HIS EYES.

I chanted.

I put the list in the pocket of my backpack.

Imagine how embarrassing it would be if someone found the list, they would all take it in the wrong sense. The giggles, the stares, the.. Argh! I don't even want to think about it. So let's just keep it in my backpack which will always be with me.

I made my way over to the training field as always. It's where we train every day with my team mates. It consists of my best buddy known as William who's extremely hyper no matter what. And obviously Henry the overconfident, stubborn, stuck up… gorgeous, handsome, attractive… WAIT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS!

Anyways we all have to have a superior person accompany us, which in our case is always Jasper. He's a great guy and we're great friends.

This has been my team for as long as I remember. My first team ever! See the loyalty.

I made my way to the field looking down. I was crossing the bridge so engrossed in my thoughts that I bumped into something hard. The wall. "Shit.. What the hell?" I mumbled and said a few curses. What was I thinking? I should be more attentive. I'm a vampire for God sake. I closed my eyes rubbing my forehead which if I was human would've got a big bump in it.

Reluctantly I slowly made myself look upwards.

Wait a minute! Why didn't the wall just break when I bumped into it?

I opened my eyes and came in contact with a familiar coat wrapped around a very muscular chest.

And from my eye level I could see his black coat falling till his knees, the one he always wore. It gave him a dark mysterious look. Like he needed one I thought sarcastically as he already had it, with or without the coat.

Oh shit. I hadn't bumped into the wall. I had bumped into Henry Fitzroy.

CRAP. CRAP. CRAP. I thought frantically.

I was expecting to see either a _very_ irritated expression on his face or an impossibly infuriating smirk on his _impossibly_ beautiful features.

_DING! DING! DING!_ I was right!

Apparently he found my distracted appearance and now sore forehead amusing, for the smirk presided.

Would it kill this guy to actually smile ones in a while?

I almost growled but I soon found myself staring into his eyes. Again. Just like every other time I happened to be in close proximity of the former-avenger.

'_Look away Elizabeth Santiago! Look away!'_ I though while waving dozens of red flags in front of my eyes. I broke out of my trance and averted her gaze quickly.

"Sorry Henry-babe..." I mumbled out of habit, before quickly side stepping the man in my path and continuing to the bridge, leaving the man in my wake. He paused for a moment thrown off by my hasty retreat. Intrigued, Henry began walking behind me.

Babe in vampiria meant someone who you care about or respect or like and all.

'_Jeez! That was close! You looked into his eyes for a full...' _i paused and calculated in my head, _'THREE SECONDS! Fool!'_

I was filled with a new determination not to give in due to my moment of weakness. I marched in the direction of my team quickly, a new spring in my step.

Soon I will be easily able to avoid his gaze with William around.

'I'm a genius' I thought

That was till Jasper arrived standing behind William.

"YOU'RE LATE!" screamed William all hyper as always.

There they go fighting again.

Sometime Jasper acts like he's a kid instead of one of the oldest strongest vampires around.

I stood there watching just before he ordered "You and me, William, will train today"

"Oh yes! And I'm going to beat your sorry ass and make you wish this never happened!"

I rolled my eyes. No one could beat Jasper. Especially us!

WAIT A MINUTE! THIS MEANT I WOULD TRAIN WITH HENRY!

Simple math if William and jasper trained today then I and Henry would be left.

If I fought with him I would defiantly get lost in his eyes.

"I want to fight William!" I said.

"No, you fight Henry. You haven't been taking training seriously and you're so busy working at the hospital. I think it's best if you train with Henry."

I frowned.

He's mastered in fire. I've mastered in healing. I'm good with close combat. Face to face. But if that happens I'm defiantly getting lost in his deep topaz eyes.

I gulped and saw as Henry had already gotten in his fighting position.

Okay. Calm down.

I waited for him to attack first as I made my way to him slowly.

He didn't attack so I attacked him.

I threw a punch at him which he easily dodged with great speed. Next thing I knew he was behind me. I ducked my elbow in his chest throwing him off balance. He regained it soon and threw a punch at me which I easily dodged and then flew a kick at him which he dodged. This close combat wouldn't help do much to him as he would dodge every single one so I disappeared into the forest and he waited anticipating my attack.

I threw knives which we always carried with us in our training suits. He deflected almost all of them with his own knives but some got through.

I soon attacked him from air and he caught my leg and threw me away. I was getting up as he threw a huge fireball towards me. I nearly dodged it but it burnt my arm. I recognized the burning feeling but I didn't care because I didn't have time to process. Knives were flying towards me. Some hit me some missed me. He came from behind me and grabbed my arms and put a knife on my neck. Slowly cutting it as blood dripped down. Suddenly I bent my back down away from the knife and hit him in his gut with my leg. I flew above him. I punched him hard in his rib. I heard a cracking sound and felt guilty for a minute but carried on.

Unfortunately he got a hold of me again and I was pinned on the ground. This time I was literally struggling to get out of his grasp. He tightened his grip and I yelped in pain.

He said "Easy." Mocking me again that I was weak and it was a piece of cake to defeat me.

I got angry and as he left my arms. I got up to yell at him but soon got caught in his amazing eyes. I starred at them and got lost in the deep bottomless eyes of his topaz eyes.

I raised a hand to my face level.

Henry anticipated my slap and was ready to catch it mid air before it came in contact with his cheek.

When the sound of the slap echoed he looked surprised to see that my hand hadn't come in contact with his cheek, but I had slapped myself.

Wow! That was close Elizabeth Santiago. Don't ever come that close to getting lost in his eyes again!

That fight was intense.

I guess I had to do a lot of healing to do now.

I had also smashed Henrys frame badly.

I walked away.

I went home.

Later at night I went out for dinner to my team's favorite place, Bloodies.

Apparently I found them there.

When I entered William said "Hey! Lizz! Man! Have you seen Henrys face? You smashed it well."

He laughed loudly.

I walked towards them and said "Henry did you get that checked?" he had bruises all over. After affects of our training.

He didn't reply as always.

"Did you get your rib checked? I'm sure I've broken it."

He simply grunted.

"I thought so, come on, pull your shirt up and let me see it."

He protested but I ignored it.

He finally pulled his shirt up and apparently at the same time his fan girls were passing by who squealed loudly and a few simply fainted.

I, on the other hand, focused all my power onto healing his broken ribs.

He looked at me intently.

I was done and pulling back when he mumbled "You're weak."

"Excuse me?" I said anger boiling up again as I tried to remain calm and not create a scene.

"Healing is a weakness" he said blankly as if that was the most obvious fact ever.

That did it. Screw creating a scene.

"I'm not weak! Who the hell do you think you are telling me I'm weak when you're the one with broken ribs I just fixed?"

He simply stared at me and I stared back.

"You're annoying"

That did it. I slapped him as hard as I could. Man if my hand hurt like this then his face must hurt a lot. I tried not to show any emotion of the pain in my hand. I didn't have to as it was nothing compared to the pain I felt inside of me. He had once again hurt me.

He thought I was weak and no matter how many times I try to prove it to him it will never matter.

I heard a lot of gasps but I walked away. Henry still had the same expression as nothing happened.

One of the many times I hated his eyes were when he looked like he had no emotions or insulted me like it meant nothing.

This was one of those times and I knew from now onwards I'd never have a hard time looking into his eyes.

Those eyes which never respected me.

I walked all the way home in disgusted and contentment.

I now knew I would never get lost in his eyes.

_Step one: Completed and successful._

**Please please REVIEW!**

**Long chapter, thus I better get A LOT of reviews!**


	3. Number 2

**Pheobep3- hats off to you for guessing something imp. And this chapter is dedicated to you. =D**

**I hope you like this and that it was worth the wait.**

**Oh and before you go and read this you might get confused, it's from a third persons POV like someone telling the story as well as both the sides. =P**

**Enjoy.**

**Number 2.**

_2. Stop Asking Him out!__ Resist all urges to ask him out to eat or to train with you. The more time you spend with him, the harder it will be to accept the fact that you will never be together. Or...well that WOULD be true, if he ever accepted your offers. Still constantly asking him out gives him the satisfaction of having your attention AND gives him the opportunity to hurt you when he declines. So I'm sure you don't want that to happen._

When Elizabeth woke up the next day, memories of the previous night flew back to her. She groaned. Why was she so affected by his comment? He called her annoying and weak almost every kabece he got and she should have been used to it by now. But yesterday had just awoken something inside her and she couldn't help herself.

'_I should probably apologize. It's not like he deserves one, but considering the fact that he is my teammate, it couldn't hurt to be civil.' _

She growled just the same. She knew he wouldn't apologize. He wouldn't even care but she still didn't want awkwardness between them and the rest of the team.

After she had gotten ready she made her way to the field where her team practiced. She honestly was dreading today. She abruptly remembered her list and looked around for a bench to sit down.

'_I don't even know today's step!'_ she mentally fretted.

Sitting down, she pulled out the slip of paper and read over the rule over and over again. As she read the line of her own scribbled writing, she swallowed loudly.

_'Stop asking him out? Why did I even put that on the list? Asking him out to bloodies or to my house for dinner just became a habit. I'm just supposed to stop now?'_ Elizabeth furrowed her brow, deep in concentration as she reread the second step.

_'Then again, he did just call me a weakling yesterday. And why? Just because I was trying to heal him of the very injuries I gave him. Bastard. Weak my __**ass.**__' _

She scowled, memories of her anger returning to her.

Still. Not asking the Fitzroy out was probably going to be extremely hard considering the fact that she'd liked him since she was five and loved him since she was twelve. Not to mention, he was utterly the most gorgeous, talented and damn sexy man in Vampiria.

_'Did I honestly just think that? I'm supposed to be getting over him, and yet here I am singing his praises in my own head!' _Elizabeth screeched in her head. So much for being mad at him.

"I really need to stop doing that." She sighed to herself. She sat back in the bench and tilted her head backwards, facing the sky. She closed her eyes and exhaled a large breath. The stress of monitoring her every move around the man was turning into a huge weight already. Hopefully it would get better as she progressed with her list.

"Stop doing what?" A deep voice questioned. Elizabeth jumped and bolted upright. Her breathing raced as she turned to glare at the person who was insensitive enough to scare the hell out her when she was obviously thinking. Looking up she realized it was none other than the stuck up jerk she was trying to forget about. Huh, no wonder she thought the intruder was insensitive. It was Henry after all. Mr. Colder-Than-A- Block-Of-Ice himself.

"Thinking out loud, for one thing." She muttered ruefully under her breath. Henry quirked an eyebrow and stared down his nose at her. She could tell he was silently debating her dakeity in his mind.

"Don't give me that look Henry-babe. You were one who snuck up on me!" She told him forcefully before picking herself up off the bench and standing in front of him.

Elizabeth angled her head upwards so that she could look at his face. She narrowed her eyes at the way he smirked, silently mocking her short height.

"Listen." She gave in with a deep breath, "I'm sorry about losing my temper and slapping you last night. I really didn't intend to create a scene. But even if I'm sorry about the whole 'you hitting your face on my hand'," Henry scoffed at this. "It doesn't mean I forgive you for the lousy things you said." She continued.

"I'm _not_ weak Henry. So don't you _dare_ tell me otherwise."

Elizabeth jabbed his chest with her finger as she spoke, emphasizing her point and letting him know that she wasn't just going to back down. She debated whether or not to strengthen her finger with her raw power and break his collar bone, but she knew in the back of her mind that that probably wouldn't help their team dynamics very much.

_'Too bad though.'_

Henry looked away from her haughtily. If she was trying to make him feel guilty or make him apologize to her; it wasn't going to happen. He felt no remorse for what he said. Why should he feel bad for telling the truth?

Elizabeth growled, but after a few seconds of inhaling deeply, she carried on.

"So to make sure things aren't awkward, I was thinking we could-"

_'Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa!"_ Inner Elizabeth shouted, waving her arms frantically. _'Don't you dare ask him out Santiago. Remember the steps!' _

Elizabeth must have been silent for a few seconds because she finally noticed the Fitzroy's expectant look. She finally remembered what she'd been in the middle of asking him.

"I was thinking we could...just forget about it okay?" Elizabeth suggested. For once she was glad for her inner's constant presence in her head. No matter how annoying she could be, Inner Elizabeth certainly saved her from herself more times than she could count.

"Hn." Henry was silently surprised. No invitation to bloodies? No pleading to come over for a team seven meal? No annoying cries for him to train with her? How strange. He turned around and, without bothering to waiting for her, started on his way toward team seven's meeting place once again. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and followed him.

_'Typical.'_

"Elizabeth-kabe! You're here! I was worried you wouldn't show after what happened last night!"

Kabe in Vampiria is added in front of the name of the friend you respect.

Elizabeth smiled softly at her teammate's concern for her. Despite the fact that it was she who'd blown and gasket and slapped Henry with all the force she could muster (without permanently destroying his bone structure with her voodoo- also known as raw power), William was still worried about how _she_ was feeling.

When she reached him, he enveloped her in a bone crushing bear hug, as was his custom. But instead of pushing him away in exasperation she just hugged him back. She couldn't describe the wonderful feeling of having a friend like him to comfort her when the other member of her team tore her down.

_'Good old William.' _

"Elizabeth-kabe! I hope you seriously knocked some sense into his head with that slap! Don't worry though! If you didn't, I'll take care of it during training today! Believe it!" He shouted. Believe it was his signature word.

"Dobe." Henry grumbled while glaring over the side of the railing of the bridge. If looks could kill, all the water in the river would have evaporated by now.

"No worries William. I trust you will." She replied, laughing. The look Henry threw her way only increased her giggles.

Jasper arrived, late as usual, in his signature puff of smoke and announced that their training today would also consist of sparring with each other. Just before the team was about to begin their traditional training rituals, they were interrupted by Kitty who had appeared in between them.

"Santiago-dake (someone you work with). You have been requested to head over to the hospital immediately by the Queen herself. Apparently there is an emergency and they need all the medical staff possible. I was sent to come get you."

Elizabeth's previous mirth dissipated quickly. Looks like she could count on spending the entire day at the hospital instead of training. "Okay, I'll be right there." With a curt nod the ninja disappeared.

"Well boys, it looks like you'll be training by yourselves today. Maybe I'll- "

Again her vision was filled with images for Inner Elizabeth shooting flares and waving warning signs through the air. _'Elizabeth! NO!'_

The pink-haired girl shook her head. These thoughts were getting stranger and stranger.

"Maybe I'll...see you tomorrow morning for training. I have to go." She covered quickly. She contemplated what she was really going to ask them.

_'Maybe I'll see you tonight at bloodies for a quick bowl of blood or something.' _Even though it was just a simple and innocent invitation for dinner, it still gave Henry the option of rejecting it. She wasn't going to take it.

She pushed those thoughts out of her head and sprinted in the direction of the Queen's hospital. If it really was an emergency, she really shouldn't be wasting time for her silly, personal 'mission'.

"Elizabeth! Finally!" The Queen exclaimed. The hospital was absolute pandemonium. Nurses were running rapidly down the white hallways and into examinations rooms. Elizabeth arrived quickly and immediately changed out of her training clothes and into her scrubs and coat. She could tell that there was no time whatsoever to dawdle.

"Evelyn! What's happened? What's going on?"

The Queen Evelyn motioned for Elizabeth to follow her as she walked briskly down the hall. Elizabeth had to run every few steps just to keep up with her Teacher's pace.

"Three weeks ago I sent three separate teams of Kitty and Jonah on some missions. Lately Vampiria has heard news of some unknown organization affecting surrounding villages outside the Fire Country. To ensure Vampiria's best interests, these teams were sent in an attempt to gather information on this group and what they're plans and movement patterns were." Evelyn continued through halls of the building, checking in with nurses and other healers as she went. Elizabeth could tell that they were headed towards the operating room. She dreaded what she would be facing inside the double doors.

"The missions weren't considered to be especially dangerous and all three teams were intended to return after only two weeks. They were already a week late and I sent out another team to search the area. We received an alert last night that they had located all three teams." Evelyn exhaled and Elizabeth could tell that this must have been hard for her handle. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that it was slightly shocking to see her teacher's reaction to the situation.

"They arrived today and all of their injuries are...Elizabeth, they are horrific. We need all the healers available due to the number of patients alone. The lives of all these Keba-Ninjas (High class) are hanging by a _thread_."

Elizabeth gasped as they pushed entered the operating room. She looked onto the table and tightly closed her eyes. How could this happen? She was no stranger to injuries and had seen her fair share, but knowing that there were over nine, _nine _patients that looked like this, she didn't know whether to gag from the sheer dreadfulness or cry.

She pulled on her gloves and entered the operating room, prepared to do anything she could to save her fellow ninjas.

Several hours later, Elizabeth exited the hospital. She had only an hour before she needed to return. Originally she hadn't wanted to leave, knowing that there was still so much to do. But with her Voodoo reserves straining and her emotional instability, Evelyn had told her to take a short break and come back fully prepared to do her job.

Elizabeth walked slowly from the doors of the hospital, almost in a daze. She could feel tears welling in her eyes. She had lost _two_ patients. Two innocent Keba-Ninjas, whose lives were placed in her hands, had died. She held the tears back. There would be a time for mourning later, but right now she needed to focus on getting her head together so that she could go back and save the others.

As she trudged lightly through the dark, empty streets, lost in her thought she looked ahead and saw her stoic teammate approaching her. Though Henry could be rude and impossibly cruel she knew she loved him. And though she was happy every time she saw him, she thought to herself that she had never been happier to see a comforting face.

"Elizabeth." He stated in greeting, looking over her tired and sweaty form.

"Henry." She meekly replied. She fought hard to keep the tears behind her eyes. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him again.

He began to walk past her when she gently grasped his arm and looked into his eyes.

"Could you...Could you please stay with me for a...for a while? Please? Just sit with me for a little while Henry." She begged him quietly. She forgot completely about her trivial list and just asked him. She needed just a little bit of support. She had lost _two_ patients today and all she needed was for someone to let her know it was going to work out; that it was going to be alright. Though Henry could never actually _tell_ her those words, his presence would be more reassuring than he would ever know.

Henry searched her eyes for a moment. Elizabeth didn't know it at the moment, but he had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her, even for just a second's time. He _wanted_ to be able to lower his walls and let her in to help her. But he was Henry. And he couldn't do it. So Elizabeth was forced to watch and break as he pulled his arm from her gentle hold and separated himself from her.

"I don't think so Elizabeth." He replied as he turned his back on her. He willed himself to put one foot in front of the other, instead of turning right around and returning to her.

Elizabeth's face crumbled and she finally let the sadness, the grief, consume her. She broke down into body shaking sobs. Henry winced as he heard her crying. He swallowed and kept walking.

Elizabeth sank to the ground where she had been standing and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rocked back and forth as she cried. Her heartache was so great, she wasn't sure if she'd have the strength to pick herself up and return to the place that had turned her life upside down.

And yet, twenty minutes later her weeping had ceased and Elizabeth Santiago got to her feet, returned to the hospital and worked all night long. She had to be strong for these ninjas that needed her to save them.

And as she walked back, she locked her jaw and tried to ignore the fact that no matter how many times she'd asked Henry to spend time with her or go out with her, he'd _always_ rejected her. And now, when she needed a friend more than anything in the world...It had been no different. He still pushed her aside.

That's when Elizabeth knew that no matter how many times she begged him for a moment of his time, he would never consider her to be worth it. Despite how _desperately_ she may need it.

That was the moment she decided she would never ask him out again.

_Step two: Complete and successful._

**Like it?**

**Review! :P**


	4. Number 3

**Number.3!**

_3. Don't offer him compliments__! Informing him of all of his good qualities just helps him inflate his already Bigger-Than-Life ego. If he happens to do something wildly impressive in your presence, simply ignore it. If THAT proves to be impossible, compliment him in your head or go home and express your adoration onto a piece of paper. Then...rip the paper to shreds and burn it._

After the night at the hospital Elizabeth couldn't find it within herself to leave her apartment for two weeks. She had lost three patients in total that day. Three high ranking ninjas had died, when she should have been able to save them. People were constantly telling her that she was the best healer in the village, aside from Evelyn herself, and that she was even coming close to surpassing her master as well. However in the end she was unable to save their lives when they needed her most.

Though the others survived, it wasn't without difficulties. One was now blind, his eyes being damaged far beyond repair. Others were missing limbs from the attack and one had even been paralyzed from the waist down. Their once handsome or beautiful faces, their strong features as well as their pride in being a ninja of Vampiria was now wiped away, hidden underneath their injuries.

They were hardly even recognizable, their faces scarred horrendously.

The guilt she felt ate her away inside. And the pieces of her soul that weren't affected by the guilt were consumed with uncontrollable grief. She cried for fourteen days straight. Her throat was raw from weeping and her eyes stung painfully.

Every day, for two weeks she'd wake up from her nightmare-filled two hours of sleep, and then she'd simply curl into a ball and cry again. She only got out of bed when she absolutely needed to. Her eating habits had been tossed aside. She hardly ate anything at all.

Every day, William came by her place and thumped on the door for twenty minutes, pleading with her to come out, or to let him inside. She blocked out his voice. She couldn't stand for him to try and cheer her up right now, when all she wanted to feel was sadness. In the midst of all his shouts and noise making, Elizabeth thought sadly that Henry had never even asked about her. He hadn't come see her. William never mentioned him ever being concerned about her well being. All these thoughts just made her cry harder.

_'He couldn't care less...' _She thought to herself. Though she was trying to forget her feelings her him, that didn't mean they weren't there. It didn't mean she wasn't secretly hoping he'd give her a reason to keep loving him.

But he hadn't. He didn't think of her as anything more than a mere hindrance.

What she didn't know was that every time she thought William was pounding on her front door alone, begging her to come out, Henry was standing right next to him silently.

In fact, every night for the past two weeks, the Fitzroy had left his house at midnight and settled himself outside Elizabeth's door. He was sure to be as quiet as possible. He could hear her heartbreaking sobs through the walls, and wished that he was anything other than a Fitzroy. For if he was, he could be inside with her, consoling her.

But he wasn't. So he contented himself with sitting outside her door for a few hours. He would pick himself up early every day and walk back to the compound. He'd be damned if anyone saw him there outside his auburn haired team member's home.

He didn't know why he did it. Honestly he couldn't think of anything more out of character for him to do than that. He knew that Elizabeth meant _something _to him. She had known him for most of his life and was a good teammate. But that was as far as it went, he had assumed. However, when he found himself tossing around in bed, thinking about the girl, the Fitzroy just felt somewhere deep, _deep _inside himself that she needed someone to be close to her right now. And maybe that he needed to be close to her too.

Henry couldn't admit it to himself, but her absence was getting to him far more than he had ever expected it to. He was distracted and wasn't focusing. He wasn't going to be able to sleep unless he knew that she was safe. In her immeasurable grief, she probably wouldn't notice an intruder. She was at a weak state right now and his natural reaction to protect her was overwhelming.

However, his excuse of wanting to protect her was only his way to cover up what was really bothering him, but it wasn't fooling even himself. Henry knew that the main reason he was leaning against her outside wall in a dark hallway was his guilt. She had needed him that night. He had known that she was hurting inside and yet he had still turned his back on her. What kind of teammate turned away from their team members when they begged for your help? Jasper's words had been running through his head for days. Though he had told them this when he was but a low rank Ninja, Henry was still haunted by these words.

"_Those who break the rules and codes of the Ninja world are trash. But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are__** lower **__than trash." _

Was that what he was? Trash? He had deserted _all _of his comrades at one point, when he had left for Jake Jagielski. He left the village and the people whom he cared about behind him. And now he had done it again.

So here he was... sitting on the ground outside Elizabeth's door; listening to her crying and wishing he could help her, while not really understanding why he was even there in the first place.

_'Elizabeth. We need to stop doing this. Crying isn't going to bring them back.'_ Her inner's voice woke her from her anything-but-peaceful slumber.

Elizabeth tightly shut her eyes. She didn't really want to face the world. She had failed the ninja's she was supposed to protect. She wasn't worthy of the title she was given as a trustworthy medic that everyone could put their faith in. She didn't even have faith in herself any longer.

_'Elizabeth. You're wallowing. Get up and __**carry on**__. Carrying on doesn't mean we need to forget about them. They were brave ninja's, and they were loyal to Vampiria. Do you think they would want you to stop __**your **__duties to this village because of this? The village they __**died**__ for? You owe it to them to contribute to their home. They can't anymore, but we __**can**__.'_

Elizabeth slowly sat up from her lying position and pushed her feet off the side of the bed. Blinking a few times, she continued thinking about what she had to do.

_'You're beating yourself up for failing them, but by staying here crying instead of being out there helping other people in this village, you truly are letting them down. They lost their lives because of a mission to protect the people of Vampiria and you are here refusing to help those very people they died for! Don't really be a failure, and continue on for them. Get your butt out there and do your job Santiago.' _

With a newfound determination, Elizabeth pushed herself up onto her feet and walked to her bathroom, grabbing some clothes as she went. She slowly looked upwards and cringed at the sight in the mirror. Her eyes were red and swollen and had a crusty film in the corners and eyelashes. Her hair was a terror. Messy and knotted, it would take her an hour along just to brush it. Her lips were chapped as well and she had black rings under her eyes from sleepless nights and malnutrition. Her throat was burning and she knew as soon as she attempt to speak, her voice would probably refuse to work for her.

But she was alive. She had the Kabece to do something for others. Therefore, without anymore thoughts about looking like a hag, she stepped into the shower and began to prepare herself to emerge into Vampiria.

After she got out of the shower she pulled on her outfit and weapon's pouch. She remembered the list that she had written to get over Henry. She pulled it out slowly and read the step she'd be working on today.

She briefly wondered if it was wrong to be thinking about this, after something so tragic had just taken place, but as she remembered all the times her heart had been hurt by this man...She knew that her happiness was on the line. She'd help the people of Vampiria, but she'd also take steps to help herself too. She'd continue on her mission to move on.

_'Don't Compliment him. Don't Compliment him.' _

"Elizabeth-Kabe..."William whispered softly as he engulfed her in a caring hug.

"We were so worried about you. We heard about what happened at the..." He drifted off. The last thing he wanted to do was to reopen her wounds. After a gentle greeting and concerned hug from Jasper, the group of them moved on to the training grounds. Sam had returned from his mission within the time she'd spent inside.

"Hey ugly, where've you been?"

Elizabeth smiled. Same old Sam. She briefly wondered if he had even heard about what had happened, and if he had, if he would even bother to show her a bit of respect.

"Come on hag. The teams leaving."

She sighed. Apparently not.

Sam was probably the most straight forward person on the planet. If he didn't like you, he would tell it to you on your face. If he thought you were ugly, he'd say it without caring if he was hurting someone's feelings. He'd been brought up that way.

She hadn't been feeling up to a heavy sparring session, so she contented herself by reading under a tree while her boys went at each other. She was also on standby in case William and Henry decided to murder each other.

"Henry-Kabe!"

Elizabeth sighed and looked up. Could they not go ten minutes without trying to kill each other? She exactly how it went. Henry and William would fight, William would scream stupid things out loud, Henry would mutter insults under his breath, William would be furious and unleash his powers.

She rolled her eyes and looked up, her breath catching in her throat. She must have been staring, she was sure, but the sight before really took a toll on her brain. Henry was there, shirtless in all his sweaty and toned glory. He was out of breath and held a look of total concentration on his face.

She nearly fainted.

Of course she'd seen him shirtless countless numbers of times and he's been sweaty before. But after forgetting exactly what he looked like after two weeks, it was like seeing him for the first time.

And it was a _good_ time.

_'Santiago! Don't you dare compliment him. Don't breathe a word of this to him. He can't know about us fighting the urge to tackle him on the spot!' _Inner Elizabeth shouted inside.

She gulped and stared holes into the page she was on. A blush had crept up her face and she desperately willed it to go away. He would be able to see it and naturally assume what she was thinking and take it...as a compliment. Oh god...Today was _never _going to end.

Henry looked over at her, burning holes into her book with a slight blush, out of the corner of his eyes and smirked. After so long, Elizabeth was still the same.

Elizabeth arrived home and collapsed at her kitchen table. She sat there for a moment staring straight ahead of her, before slamming her head onto the table.

_'How beautiful can one guy be?' _Her inner demanded._ 'Fifty two! FIFTY TWO! We nearly spat out compliments to the guy fifty two times! What is wrong with us!' _

Elizabeth quickly remembered the list and got out a pen and paper and began to write furiously.

_1. Henry, I want to run my fingers all through your hair._

_2. Your abs make me die a little inside_

_3. If I weren't trying to get over you, I'd have definitely jumped you_

_4. Can someone say manly?_

_5. I wish I was as strong as you as a ninja._

_6. Your stupid smirk makes me want to smack you...That, or kiss you. Mostly the second one._

_7. Your strong jaw and perfect lips make me wonder if you could really put them to good use._

_8. Sweaty men aren't always attractive but if they all looked as erotic as you do...they would be._

_9. I want to squeeze your arms just to see if my fingers break._

_10. When you look at me, you might not know this, but you make it a lot harder for me to resist the urge to tackle and rape you._

And so the list went until Elizabeth had reached number fifty two.

_'Burn it._' Her inner commanded. _'Burn it now.' _

And Elizabeth did burn it. It was somewhat freeing to watch her feelings from him go up in smoke. The Auburn haired Ninja in training process watched as a small pillar of smoke rose up into the air and she closed her eyes and exhaled a big breath, It wasn't just her pitiful feelings for a certain Fitzroy she was trying to let go of. After what had happened she was also trying to forget the hurt and shame.

She decided to take a walk around Vampiria to clear her head. So much had happened to her so soon, and she knew that she was numbing her pain by trying to move on so quickly. But she couldn't handle it anymore.

Elizabeth slowly walked towards the memorial Jasper had first shown the three of them years ago.

She ran her fingers gently over the names of the people that had died. She had tried so hard to save them, yet their names still ended up here. She could feel tears rolling down her face again. No matter how much she told herself that she was carrying on, she'd still felt a sharp ache in her heart.

"Elizabeth."

She lifted her head and turned herself around to look at Him.

"Henry-babe..."

He stood behind her with his hands buried deep in his pockets. He regarded her with an unwavering gaze. Elizabeth turned back to the memorial and said a quiet prayer for the men and women while wiping away her tears with the heel of her hand. She half expected Henry to be gone once she had finished, for he had never once waited for her. He slowly turned around and took and few steps away from her. She shook her head.

_'Of course he's not going to wait stupid. He doesn't __**care.' **_

Suddenly Henry stopped walking and turned his head to look over his shoulder at her expectantly. At first Elizabeth just stood there staring at him, unsure of what he was doing. Then she widened her eyes and ran after him. Slowly he walked beside her in the direction of her apartment

Though he was at least three feet away from her on the sidewalk, he didn't say a word to her and he didn't even look in her direction, Elizabeth smiled softly all the way home.

As they reached the narrow cement path that lead up to the entrance of her building, Henry just paused for a moment and watched her make her way to the door before continuing to the compound. Just as she was about to open her front door she just looked at his retreating back and smiled. He hadn't walked her to the door or said goodbye, he just kept walking, but for Elizabeth, that meant more than anything else.

_'Thank you Henry-babe'_

As soon as the door was closed she walked mindlessly up the stairs and pulled out one piece of paper. She furrowed her eyebrows as she wrote down one last compliment.

_53. Today, you showed me real kindness._

Elizabeth felt a smile climb up her face. She wouldn't burn this one though. She'd keep it as a constant reminder that no matter how cold or rude or hurtful Henry was, he was her friend.

And she wanted to keep it that way. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just friends. That's why she came to the decision that complimenting him wouldn't happen anymore, because she didn't want to see him _that_ way. She'd encourage him, help him, but now she'd do it because he was her friend and not because he was her love interest. She was just tricking her heart into loving him even more by admitting all the great things about him.

She finally accepted that she'd never throw meaningless and superficial comments his way again.

_Step two: Complete and successful._


	5. Number 4

**Exams- *sigh***

_4. Do not ogle his body and/or features while at training or on a mission. __This will be a crucial step in your road to recovery, considering the fact that the Fitzroy has one of the most beautiful bodies in the history of...well...everything. If you manage to complete this step, it will only be a matter of time before you forget the bastard totally. If you begin to stare, just tell yourself to imagine him naked...WAIT NO! DON'T DO THAT! IN ABSOLUTELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU DO THAT! Instead...imagine him...wearing...a...a... bunny suit._

Elizabeth was freaking out.

No...Freaking out was the understatement of the century. She was sitting on the floor of her bedroom, ready to completely give up her own goal of giving up Henry. Her next step was impossible. Utterly insurmountable.

No. There was impossible, which included such tasks as trying to teach Lee about Fashion, getting Charlie to go on a diet or managing to get Steven to kick his lazy habits to the curb. There was _that _impossible_..._ and then there was this, which was about four or five notches _above _that.

She was is the right mindset to just shove the list down her own throat, choke herself and forget about the whole thing.

_'Don't ogle him?'_ She pressed a hand to her forehead and tightly squeezed her eyes shut. She'd been ogling him for as long as she could remember. In fact, she was pretty sure _every _woman in Vampiria who was even remotely around their age group had been staring at him from the corners of their eyes.

_'Am I out of my mind?' _Elizabeth decided to avoid answering the question to herself. She was, after all, trying to get over the one person whom she'd ever loved who just happened to be possibly the most beautiful human specimen ever created, with a set of skills and intelligence to match. Most would debate that as being clinically insane, Elizabeth included.

How on earth had she even contemplated achieving this? The more she thought about it, the closer she got to drowning herself. His abs, his face, his arms...They were all working against her.

But that wasn't even the worst part. She'd just found out this morning that she'd be leaving for a mission with the rest of her team to The Sand Land. Unfortunately that included Henry as well.

The only good news was that their "mission" was really two separate tasks, which had simply arose at the same time and both the destinations were the same. The team would divide into two groups once they reached the border of the Land of Fire and meet up later. Godric had been infected recently in a battle and Elizabeth was required to heal him. After what had happened to his father a few years back, Godric and both his sibilings put their faith in her medical abilities more than almost anyone else's. She had saved him from an injury most medic couldn't. While she spent the time inside the city, the four men would scout the area surrounding The Sand Land and Vampiria to gather further information about the organization that was behind the deaths of the three Ninja's.

Elizabeth was grateful that she wouldn't be spending all her time around the Fitzroy, but that didn't expel the fact that she'd still be traveling with him for at least four days, and would be spending time with him _overnight._

Any other time, she wouldn't have a problem, for before, she was always free to swoon over his body however much she wanted to. But _now_. Now she had the pressure of forcing herself to look away. The pressure of failing on her shoulders.

"Argh...I'm going to have to shoot myself." She thought before falling over backwards and glaring a hole into the ceiling. "That or jab out my eyes with my knives to stop them from mentally undressing the guy."

She groaned. She was so screwed.

The auburn haired girl reluctantly awoke the next day and began gathering all her supplies. The plan was to meet the team outside the gates at seven in the morning before heading out towards the border.

Elizabeth double checked her medical pack and shrugged into her training vest. She may have been inwardly dreading this week's step, but she knew that her duties as a ninja and medic came first. She inhaled a deep breath and puffed out her chest before letting it all out and heading off to greet the boys.

"Elizabeth-Kabe! You're here! Now we just have to wait for the pervert and we can go!" Said William hyper as always. The pervert he referred to was Jasper.

The girl heaved a large sigh. You could always count on William to...liven things up. Even at seven in the morning. That liveliness had often gotten the group in trouble and his spirit and vocal capacities were enough to wake up the whole village. She momentarily made a mental note to have a little talk with him about respecting people's down time and talking with an inside voice.

_'How on earth is the guy such a morning person?'_ She wondered to herself.

"Shut up dobe. It's too early for your stupidity." Elizabeth very nearly giggled. While William was obviously a morning person who woke up with a smile automatically plastered across his face, the Fitzroy was clearly the opposite. The Fire user probably didn't find the words "cheerful" and "morning" used in a sentence together natural.

"What was that Kabe? You're just pissed because you had to wake up _alone. _Unlike me! _" _

Elizabeth felt her face lift slightly at William's words. It was well known that the blond haired boy had been living with Hillary for two years now and that they were, without a doubt, the cutest couple in Vampiria.

"Don't make me repeat myself stupid." Henry countered. Had a stranger walked by at that very moment, they would have been able to easily see the twitch that William's face had acquired as well as the fist at his side that was itching to make contact with the Fitzroy's jaw.

"Kabe..." William growled out.

"Oh calm down dickless. We all agree with him so just shut the hell up, you're giving me a migraine."

William silently fumed at Sam's comment. He'd show him dickless! Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at the team's antics. Had she been twelve, she would have been fretting about the team's fighting and yelling at William to listen to Henry- _babe. _But since she dealt with this kind of thing every day, she just contented herself with watching them tear each other apart until Jasper arrived. Today she was glad for the bickering between the others, for it took her mind off of her list and reminded her that this would be exactly like every other mission. Perfectly normal.

She turned her head when she heard someone sigh beside her.

"Still fighting I see."

"Jasper..." Elizabeth blinked, a bit surprised. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice his signature puff of smoke.

"Yo."

"You're late again..." She stated simply in warning. She had grown accustomed to his late arrivals and had learned to accept them, for she knew that he was never going to change...William, however...had not.

"You're late AGAIN you pervert! We've been sitting around here for ages!"

And so it went. Elizabeth just laughed she watched as William yelled at him, Jasper attempted to defend himself, Henry glared at the blonde and Sam just rolled his eyes and ignored them. Their routine was comforting.

The crew stopped their flight through the trees a little after sunset and began to make camp. They had been running for hours and it was time to settle down for a while.

Elizabeth began to pitch her tent in between Jasper and William's tent. Jasper would be sharing with Sam for the trip, while William would share with Henry. Elizabeth giggled when she heard Henry muttering threats under his breath.

"I swear dobe, if you kick me, you'll be out on your ass outside...Even a touch..."

The three tents would always stand together and because Elizabeth's was the smallest, she had to place it between the two others.

After all their tents had been laid out, the group sat (relatively speaking) around a fire. Sam was leaning against a nearby tree with his sketch book in hand, the scratching of his pencil the only sound emanating from the area. Henry lay above him in the branches of the tree, completely ignoring the rest of the group sit while Jasper was sitting next to the fire reading his book and giggling quietly to himself. William, of course, was shoveling food into his mouth and jabbering away about the mission and how he'd complete it and come one step closer to becoming a senior Ninja. Elizabeth merely hugged her legs and stared into the flames.

Suddenly Henry jumped from the branch and started walking away.

"Hey kabe! Where ya going?" William asked with a slight furrow in his eyebrows.

Henry merely shrugged his shoulders and with a "Hn" kept walking.

"Antisocial bastard." William muttered under his breath before shouting out to the man "Yeah well just make sure you come back after you leave this time!"

The group heard the sharp sound of a branch being broken, quite viciously, in half.

"Jeez it's hot" she muttered as the Fitzroy footsteps grew fainter. She was sitting right in front of the fire and the combination of all her clothes plus her training vest was causing her to sweat. She swiftly pulled off her vest and outer layer, leaving her in only a sporty black tank top. She smiled happily as the night air whipped around her overheated arms. She was perfectly comfortable.

"Well guys, we should probably head in. It's pretty late and The Sand Land is still a while away." Jasper mentioned while stuffing his porn into his front pocket.

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight guys." Elizabeth mumbled while getting up. Weariness was creeping up on her, and she knew that if she didn't go in soon, she'd fall asleep on the ground.

"'Night Elizabeth-Kabe!"

"See you tomorrow hag."

She climbed into her tent and changed into some shorts. Burrowing herself deep inside her sleeping bag, she smiled. Everything was going well. She hadn't even thought about Henry and his damn body. This step would be completed no problem.

The girl stopped thinking about the list and started to doze off before realizing that she'd left all her clothing out by where the fire had been. She rolled her eyes at her own forgetfulness and unzipped her tent. A shuffling could be heard outside but she just figured it was Henry returning from...wherever he'd been. As she climbed out she realized that that was _exactly _who it was. Wet haired, bare chest and rippling with muscle. Apparently he'd gone to bathe himself and was returning just now. He was passing the entrance to her tent and she got a nice close up view of his structured form.

_'Holy hell!' _Inner Elizabeth cheered before correcting herself. This wasn't exactly what you'd call _hell_. Heaven seemed to be a more fitting word.

She choked out a small gurgling noise when she saw him, instead of paying attention to where she was stepping and found herself tripping forwards, fast. She braced herself to land hard on the ground and embarrassed herself, when she felt a firm hold on her wrist. She caught her balance and stood up straight, fast as lightning.

She quickly closed her eyes and thanked him politely for catching her before she kissed the ground. Elizabeth didn't dare to look at him again because she would probably pass out, either from humiliation or the overwhelming sensation in her gut from his looks.

She ran to the where she'd left all of her belongings and bolted into her tent with a quick "Goodnight Henry-babe. Thanks again. See you tomorrow!"

The Fitzroy merely smirked and very nearly chuckled. She was still affected by him after so long. She really was an amusing person to observe sometimes. Annoying and highly irritating, but amusing nonetheless.

The man climbed into his tent and growled when he noticed that the dobe had put his sleeping bag on the right side of the tent. Henry grabbed the edge of William's bed and hauled him over to the left side before settling himself down. He had to keep reminding himself that it was because he felt more comfortable on the right side, for that was the side he slept on at his house, and had nothing to do with the fact that the right side was the side closest to Elizabeth's tent. The very idea that he wanted to be as close to her as possible was _absurd._

Meanwhile Elizabeth was currently slapping the sides of her face repeatedly. Images of her Inner pointing an accusing finger towards her shouting "OGLER!" was surprisingly overpowering.

'S_o much for "forgetting about" Henry and his "damn body"' _she thought vehemently. She'd need to work twice as hard to look away. She'd underestimated the power of a beautiful, god-like body. Groping around for her bag, she pulled out the list and a flashlight from her bag and quickly scanned the step again.

_'Imagine him in a __**bunny**__ suit...? I...guess I can do that.' _

She shut her eyes and tried to picture the last of the prestigious Fitzroy clan wearing a fluffy pink rabbit costume. She was briefly amused, before her mind's bunny-Henry began to unzip the costume revealing a sliver of his bare chest.

_'Oh crap! Abort! Abort!' _Inner Elizabeth screamed. However Elizabeth was trapped. Bunny-man was now pulling the zipper past his abdomen, dragging it slowly until Elizabeth was practically drooling in her mind. She caught a glimpse of the body he was revealing and nearly fainted.

Suddenly, almost as though someone had drenched her in water, she shook her head and grabbed the nearest pillow. Burying her face deep within the feathery depths she let a muffled scream escape her lips, before collapsing backwards.

How ironic it was that the _one_ guy she happened to be trying to let go of was the _one_ man in the world who could make a fuzzy bunny outfit alarmingly sexy and abnormally erotic.

_'Figures'_

The wind was blowing roughly through The Sand Land. Elizabeth wrapped her training vest a bit tighter around herself while she trudged through the streets in the desert town. She was, for lack of a better word, exhausted and completely drained. She had known that Godric's injuries were serious, but the medic had severely underestimated how bad they really were. She had drained almost every ounce of her raw power, while healing him.

Still, the happy and satisfied smiled grazed her features, as she strolled through the streets. She had successfully healed the Heir to The Sand Land without a hitch. Godric held a special place in her life. She hadn't known him very well, but she trusted him with her life and considered him a good friend. Knowing that she had helped him made her feel good.

She knew she had to leave soon to meet up with her own team. She really didn't want them to have to wait around too long for her. Elizabeth planned to leave immediately, so she picked up the pace to the Heir's tower to gather her belongings from the room they had provided for her and to bid her farewells to the sand siblings. This would be the last she'd be seeing of them for a little while.

When she had packed up all her medical supplies and clothing, she made a beeline to the Heir's office. One gentle knock later, she found herself face to face with Godric, for the last time for a few months. She bowed deeply.

"Thank for your hospitality your highness." The red haired man gave her a subtle look at the formality and Elizabeth laughed lightly. "Sorry. _Godric. _I hope you're feeling better. I really should leave soon though, 'cause the rest of my team will be waiting for me."

"I understand Santiago." It was Elizabeth's turn to give him a look. Godric sighed and very nearly smiled. "_Elizabeth. _Thank you once again. You better say goodbye to Tanya or she'll throw a fit." Elizabeth tilted her head back and laughed. She could just picture her close friend complaining about her leaving without a real goodbye. Tanya was Godric's sister.

"Will do. Thank you once again. Goodbye Godric." She bowed one final time and quickly left to find the blonde haired sand sibling.

About ten minutes later, Elizabeth was already sprinting through the trees. Because of her lack of power, she had to run at a normal speed, instead of instilling power into her feet to enhance her speed. She silently hoped that they wouldn't have been waiting for her for too long. To be honest she'd feel guilty for being the one to hold them back. She hadn't seen them all for a few days, so a late entrance wasn't what she was looking for.

The leaves whipped around her as she jumped quickly from branch to branch. She burst through into a clearing to take a small break after about an hour or two or traveling. The depletion of her powers was taking its toll. She leaned against a tree and slowly slid to the ground. She panted quietly. She knew that she must have been somewhat close to her teammates. They should be around the area somewhere and she deserved a break. The girl had really pushed herself.

"Well...Looky what decided to drop in." Elizabeth tensed suddenly at the words. Spoken in a deep male voice, Elizabeth shivered at the realization that it was no one she recognized. It was impossible to miss the malicious tone behind the words.

She cursed herself for letting her guard down. Her eyes snapped open and she snarled as she noticed the three males that had surrounded her. A brief thought crossed her mind and she wondered if these are the ninja's they were searching for.

"What should we do with her Ryan?" One of them asked.

"Do with me? You won't_ do _anything with me." Elizabeth snapped as her temper flared. How dare they talk about her that way! She had risen to her feet sharply and was preparing to make a break for it. She literally had no power left to fight them. Her only hope to make it out of this situation was to run and attempt to find her team members.

"Oh? Is someone a bit edgy?" Another spoke up as he advanced towards her, too close for Elizabeth's liking, "Or are you just feisty like that all the time?" He added as he pinned her to the tree. Elizabeth snarled again before locked her leg behind his and pulling it towards herself. Her tactic had barely affected him, due to her weak state, however it had caught him off guard and thrown off his balance just a bit. That was all she needed to squirm out of his grasp and bolt through the trees.

She was mentally petrified. She had really gotten herself in deep shit this time. No Voodoo left, exhausted, no teammates in sight with three rogue Ninja's chasing after her.

_'Oh god, please let me find someone. Anyone.' _She prayed mentally. She knew she wouldn't last long.

Suddenly a shooting pain instilled itself in her shoulder and she cursed loudly. A knife was embedded deeply in her skin and the blood was already trailing from the wound.

Twenty minutes and_ countless _wounds later, the ninja were catching up to her and she was growing more terrified by the second. Abruptly her ears picked up a trace of movement farther in the trees and she immediately switched her direction and headed straight for the sound.

She threw herself through the branches and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Henry-babe.." She was crying she knew, but she had never been so happy to see a friendly face.

"Elizabeth. What happened?"

"Henry...babe" Elizabeth could feel herself losing consciousness. The last thing she remembered seeing was Henry turning towards the approaching enemies with his Sharingan- his power of fire- spinning blindingly fast, his shirtless figure positioned in the fighting stance.

He wordlessly unsheathed his enemies with a murderous glare and silently faced the rogues that had just revealed themselves. Somebody was about to pay dearly for Elizabeth's current state. He'd certainly make sure of it.

A few days later, Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes. She gathered in her surroundings as soon as she'd woken up. She could finally breathe when she recognized the white room as a patient's room in Vampiria's hospital.

She took in the vase of flowers on her bedside table and the numerous bandages that covered her arms.

The girl tried to remember everything that had happened to her while she had been running for her life. She could remember no further than when she had first run into Henry. He'd been doing...something, she didn't know what when she'd finally found him.

She could clearly recall the mildly surprised look on his features before he'd turn away to face the men chasing her. He didn't even pause to prepare himself. He'd probably taken on those ninja's with nothing but his pants on. He'd been barefoot and shirtless and yet she knew in the back of her mind that he'd punished those ninja's and that thought made her smile lightly. He was certainly a good friend.

_'Wait...Whoa...Hold it! Shirtless..? As in chest exposed, abs blaring, the whole package? And we didn't notice?'_ Her inner screamed. She was a little more than a bit shocked. In fact she was a _lot _more than a bit shocked. He'd been shirtless and she hadn't even noticed. All of a sudden she smiled softly at the thought because she'd finally made a revelation. She knew exactly why she hadn't notice them.

It was because she didn't really care about that stuff! She'd needed him at that moment. It had been a life or death situation, and he had been there for her no questions asked...and that meant a great deal more to her than the fact that he had a great body. He had shown her that he would be there for her.

All this time she'd been drooling over him, saying that she was attracted to him simply for his looks. That was her shield. Her excuse because she was too scared admit anything else. She knew she loved him, but her excuse for loving a traitor who'd deserted the village was that, hell, the man was hot. Who could blame her? Any villagers who still held a grudge against him could still comprehend why she had a crush on him. It was her safe zone.

But after the incident in the forest, she finally admitted to herself that she cared about him because he was always going to protect her and be a good friend. There were so many better qualities in Henry that were hundreds of times more attractive than his looks.

He was her _friend._ And in her eyes, even as she was fainting from exhaustion, that shone more than what was on the outside.

That's how she discovered, laying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages, that she never had to worry about ogling him again. She'd never care more about his looks than his personality. She'd never look at his body that way again. He'd been a good friend to her today, so she'd repay him in her own little way by being the same for him. She vowed to always look past the surface, because that's where the real Henry was.

_'Step Four: Complete.'_


	6. Chapter 6 Important

**Hi everyone, **

**I'm sure you all were expecting an update, especially since I am a sucky updater. Though I hate to disappoint you all but I'm sorry I won't be continuing any of my stories for an indefinite period. If I ever start writing again I'm not even sure you all will still read it because it might be months till I start again so put it on your story alert or join my page or something maybe. I have always dreamed to finish every story I have ever started, that will just have to wait now.  
**

**I'm sure you all are wondering why I would stop writing because I love doing that and these stories are what I am extremely proud of. The reason is that life never turns out how you want it to, mine is really sucky at the moment and I can only focus on so much at a time.**

**My send up tests are coming which are the most important tests for me right now because my transcripts suck and I was hoping on them to get a good score but I somehow can't seem to study for it because my favorite and one & only Grandfather is in the hospital because he is unwell. Turns out that the doc suspects he has the last stage of cancer which is very wide spread in the diaphragm area and the omentum, traces of deposits are on the liver and intestine too, the doctor says that it can't be operated on. They are waiting for the biopsy report to see if any treatment is possible. **

**You see it's hard to believe all this is happening to him because he is a gem of a person, the gentlest, caring and loving person I have ever come across. He eats healthy, he is devoted to his religion and he is the best grandparent anyone could hope for. His sense of humor, the way he shakes his head, the way he pats my head. He is a person who is not very expressive in his love towards others but he shows more than he says verbally. **

**Why would this happen to him? If I have been crying about this since morning, how would he be feeling? He wanted to see his son's first child that is yet to be born, he wanted to do so many things.**

**The first thing I think of when I find something new and interesting is that I can't wait for him to tell him about it and whether he already knows about it or not. When I have a test I receive a good luck MSG from him. I meet him every week because without seeing him it's like the week just didn't pass. I love him so much and it tears me up to hear the doctor say that it may not be treatable. **

**I have always admired him so much. He was the first one to notice how well I write, he praises my singing, arts, dancing, and he has always been there for me. But forget me, what about my grandmother who is completely dependent on him? She doesn't even know how to operate an atm machine despite that she comes from such an advanced and rich family. Isn't that cute as opposed to how fast this world moves? What about my mom? I can't even begin to fathom. Anyway enough of my blabbering.. **

**I have always asked you all to review my work and tell me how it is, I'd just like you all to do one more thing, please pray that my grandfather whenever and however many times that he gets better soon and his cancer is treatable and he is cured soon. If there is any progress I can keep informing you all if you want.**

**If I ever continue any of these I would like to publish my 'The Betrothed' as soon as it finished and dedicate it to my grandfather and hopefully show him the dedication.  
**

**Thank you,**

**Love you always, **

**Zoya Gul Noon.**


	7. Chapter 7 Update

Guys.. just wanted to let you all know, thank you a lot for praying for my grandfather, as you all know through my last post on fanfiction that he had cancer but he passed away a month ago right in front of my eyes, five seconds back i was talking to him and the next thing i see is, what is called a GI bleed occuring. I hope his soul rests in peace and he goes to heaven.. just wanted to thank you all for the support and prayers.

And i know i shouldve informed you guys earlier but try to understand. I've been busy not just with his funeral, coping with his loss, but also my university. I'm doing my LLB (hons) - Law too and it keeps me hell busy. But mostly the news hit me hard, i still cant believe it.

I had written something for my grandfather long time back and i thought ill share it with you guys so you know what kind of a person he was. I understand if you guys wouldnt want to read it but some of you have really helped me, even if it was just asking me how i was doing, how he was, or letting me know you are praying.

I am glad to have stumbled onto this site and postig my stories and sharing it with you wonderful people.

**I had written this almost 1.5 years ago and I'm glad I had the opportunity to make nana abu (grandfather- his name was Ahad Faruqui) read this.**

Sitting on the head chair at the table silently, gazing upon the people sitting in front of him, with eyes full of wisdom, is none other than my very own grandfather.

The one and only person constantly on my number one spot on my long list of role models.

From the time I was young to the time up to date, I have always wanted to be like him.

I remember telling my mother long time back 'mommy do you know how cool your dad is? He knows like everything and one day I'll be just like him. You just wait and watch.'

It fascinates me to no extend that there is not a single topic that he doesn't know about.

He is so different yet so similar. His peculiar and unique ways of living life.

Every time I visit him I learn something new. He asks a question, the three of us ponder on it for a long time making guesses or saying I don't  
know, finally all hope lost, he provides us with the answer. At first I never used to like the fact that I never knew anything considering how I loved to show off that I knew more but now I look forward to learning something new.

He doesn't talk much but when he does people listen. One might not seem to notice that even in an informal family gathering he would seem to have the best possible manners and eat his food delicately with a folk and a knife. He even taught us how to eat with chopsticks.

He never neglects us, even when he's tired after working and coming home at 7 pm. Shows how well groomed and family oriented he is. He is soft spoken and calm in situations that makes one wonder in amazement.

Someone who doesn't know him might not notice the small signs of affection, how much he cares for us and loves us not expressly but impliedly. Like the way he would pat us on the head or play with my hair or the way he would strike a conversation with us kids when we seem lost as Nano and Mom take their conversation to cloths and tailor and what not. And let's not forget when he tells us all to put down our cell phones and spend time with him and Nano instead.

Also like this one big dinner that happened and the light went while the UPS stopped working. Nano was in a full scale panic mode. He remained calm  
and helped her set up candles, lights and came to check on her after every 10 minute's neglecting the guests. He even asked me to help her. These  
small things make it easy to see what a humble man he really is as well as his undying love for my Nano which also shows every time he tells her to  
sit down, eat and relax while Basheera handles the rest.

He has taken us on picnics to various historic places throughout my life, which I have loved, cherished and hope we make a plan to go visit the  
Lahore fort again.

He has taken us out to dinner countless times which has led my brother Zain to refer to him as a rich business man.

I would bet a million rupees on the fact that I would never have had an interest in photography if my grandfather didn't like to capture all the precious moments. He taught me that your hand needs to be steady, the concept of the angles of light and the fact that the flash would reflect off of mirrors, any glass or shiny object.

Going through all the old baby pictures the other day I couldn't believe how many pictures we had. All those memories saved due to his effort. Looking for mom's slideshow pictures in his laptop I noticed how organized he is. Every folder neatly labeled and dated. Inspired, I started doing the same.

History always fascinates me and I remember how I had asked Nana Abu a lot of questions on troy and discussed the movie kingdom of heaven which I  
watched in school with friends in grade 7. Then with the help of Google earth, together we explored the land where once troy stood. He even showed  
me my school on it.

Let's not forget how he always used to come along with mom and dad on all our school functions making videos and taking pictures on parent's night, Halloween, festivals and birthdays which he never missed. Let's also not forget how he used to give us chocolates from the fridge upstairs when we were kids and we still get them till date or how he had models of airplanes, sets of Lego's and other fun stuff we kids could play with.

He seems to enjoy deserts very much and after our meals he always offers ice cream, oh and he loves the peach desert Nano makes and so do I. I have known him 18 years and I admire him like anything. I am proud to be his granddaughter. His simple way of life, his admiration of natures seen through pictures of plants in America and his own unique way of handling things is commendable. And if you don't know him then you don't know what you're missing out on. I love him and I'm blessed to have him as my grandfather. If I had an option of millions I'd always pick him.

Now that he has lost his battle with cancer on 29th September 2012 we all know what a strong, patient and amazing person he was. But most of all he was the most caring and loving person I knew. A role model not only for me but everyone around him.

Everyone who showed up on his funeral had wonderful memories to share with us which showed that he cared not only about us but everyone else in a genuine way.

I hope Allah forgives his sins, grants him the highest rank in jannat for his patience, suffering and devotion to Islam.

**XXXX**

With that said, those of you who are not on my page, or group on fb, probably dont know this so i will post it here.

**"Just so you guys know, I did not take down all the wrong moves and the climb. Fanfiction did. Apparently the title and summary was not 'suitable' for all readers and I suppose my T-Rating means nothing and that I'm suppose to have a G-rating summary regardless of that fact.  
Personally I found nothing in it to violate that, however, I might take all my books down when I've got time. Fanfiction doesn't deserve it. Maybe I'll shift everything to wattpad. It's clearly a better option now."**

Just so you know, i love you guys too much to leave, i just said that cuz i was angry. Hopefully i will post the new chapter soon. Sadly I need to re-read the book to rememeber where i left it.

Love you all,

Zoya


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